I was reading Mark Nepo’s The Book of Awakening, and he talked about the release of a chick from its egg in a way I had never thought about. There is great significance to that moment for us.
A chick grows in its shell, feeding off the nourishment within, until all the nourishment is gone. It then starts to starve itself. In this starvation mode, but still growing, it starts to peck away at its shell for something more to eat. The chick itself thinks it is dying, as it deperately plucks away at it shell. And yet, upon breaking through the shell, the chick is reborn!
We are like these chicks. We go through the process of conception and birth within our mothers, and then we go through the second birth, when we must leave our protective home and go to the unknown.
As we become adults, with all our smarts and depth of understanding, we forget this most basic lesson: that in order to be reborn (change, grow), we must experience what seems like death. At the end of dying, there is birth and growth.
Is there an area in your life that is ready for rebirth? Is there a change needed? Will you wait until you starve yourself, or will you make the change while you are still strong? Either way, change will eventually come, when it is necessary.